| Scorchy Smith | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Real Name |
Unknown |
|
First Appearance |
Scorchy Smith (March 17, 1930) |
|
Original Publisher |
AP Newsfeatures |
|
Created by |
John Coleman Terry |
Origin[]
Scorchy Smith was a pilot-for-hire whose initial adventures took him across America, fighting criminals and aiding damsels in distress.
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of Scorchy Smith from before January 1, 1931 are public domain in the US.
Public Domain Comic Appearances[]
- Scorchy Smith Comic Strip (1930)
- Famous Funnies #25-80, 82-115, 117–150, 153–155, 162–163, 168–178, 180–182, 184, 189-190, 193, 196-198, 199-201, 203
Gallery[]
Notes[]
- Charles Lindbergh's 1927 transatlantic flight increased interest in aviation, and together with several other flight-related adventure strips, Scorchy Smith debuted in 1930, created by John Terry for AP Newsfeatures. When Terry developed fatal tuberculosis in 1933, the strip was assigned to Noel Sickles; Sickles' first credited strip ran on April 2, 1934. Sickles increased the popularity of Scorchy Smith, which became AP's leading strip. Sickles' impressionistic style and cinematic compositions, plus his frequent use of areas of pure black ink and Zipatone shading, was dramatically different from any other cartoonist at the time. Milton Caniff's mastery of the medium is frequently attributed to his collaborations with Sickles.
- After working on the strip for two years, Sickles estimated that Scorchy Smith was running in about 250 newspapers, which would make the syndicate about $2,500 a month. He only got paid $125 a month, so he asked the syndicate for a raise. He didn't get it, so he quit the strip to become a commercial illustrator. His last strip ran on October 24, 1936.
- In the earliest strips, Scorchy Smith was characterized as a “boy pilot,” in line with contemporaneous aviation adventure heroes such as Tailspin Tommy. As the strip progressed, the character was depicted as older and more experienced, reflecting a gradual maturation within the internal continuity of the series rather than a single explicit aging event.